Monday, April 29, 2013

Just a small sampling of the approximately 148 quilts that hung in our quilt show this past weekend. I must say, we have so many talented ladies who certainly know how to play with fabric and turn it into just absolute works of arts. I will not try to put names of the quilters of each piece even though I do know who made some of them. What do you think of this strip pieced quilt? Isn't that a gorgeous, clever way to really spice up the strips? I think that is what is called jelly roll race quilting.

You may see one you have seen before here!

So pretty!

Lovely quilt from an Edyta Sitar pattern.

The two quilts above are the result of a black and white strip exchange in the guild. There were a couple of others there, also, but I did not get them pictured. Great quilts.

This quilt is a stunner! The quilter who made this beautiful Edyta Sitar pattern always does such wonderful work!

This is the result of a class given by Linda, our guild paper piecing expert - and she does fantastic work. Designs all of her quilts on EQ7 and is now making up her own patterns which are being sold in quilt shops. If I were younger, I would be knee deep in her class! She does it free one day a month and has a good bunch of students! This is the result of one of her classes. Very impressive!! Two other class members had their pieces in also and it was so cool to see the different fabric combinations. All three were equally beautiful. Good job, Linda and students!

Two more smaller quilts - both gorgeous. Top one is by Kathy (I will give her name) and she is a master (or mistress?) of machine quilting on her domestic machine. You cannot see it, but the feathers and little circles and all the other beautiful stitching are awesome. On the bottom is a little quilt done by Linda that is amazing. Teensy, tiny pieces of fabric, all paper pieced and it's breathtaking.

You have seen this before.

This one was the result of a class given by Edyta Sitar at our guild last winter. I missed her trunk show and the class since that was when I was being treated for the lung problem. Had so looked forward to her being at our guild.

Loved the colors in this one.

One of my favorites - love the brights on the black and the quilter's choice of colors.

So there you have a small sampling of the quilts we displayed this past weekend. I believe we had 600 or more come through to ooh and aah over our work. So many tell us they look forward to our show each spring and have been coming for a long time. I think we started having them around 1999 or 2000 so it's been quite a while. There is no room for vendors, but we have a bazaar with some handmade items, lots and lots of books and magazines, unwanted fabric, quilting tools, you name it. We do very well on that little venture! Actually, some of the show goers hit the bazaar first. On Sunday everything is half price and most everything sells. The girls who were in charge of our show this year did a great job!! Fun weekend.

Wanted to say that I know spring is here!! We have the sweetest little old lady up the street who is in her mid nineties. She has a tricycle. Today I saw Eleanor ride by on her trike! One of the nicest ladies I have ever met. Bless her heart!

Haven't been giving a quote - so will find one!

Quote for the Day:

"Inside this body lies that of a skinny lady, but I can usually shut her up with

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Almost 5 years ago on May 12th, 2008, I did my first post on Funoldhag and this one today is #1000 according to the stats for my blog. The first posts I did were pretty short with usually just one picture. I just recently reposted the quilt that I featured in the very beginning. It was a paper-pieced New York Beauty that I called "Attagirl, Carol" which was a pat on my own back for doing curved piecing for the first time!

﻿

This was the picture in the second post. Lots of quilts, pieces of quilts, etc., have laid on that bed and been photographed for inclusion in blog posts. Hitch Your Flowers to a Star is machine appliqued and hand quilted and was made in 1988. The little pillow with the little girl is hand appliqued and hand quilted and the other two pillows are candlewicked.

It doesn't seem like five years ago since I started doing this. I have completely enjoyed blogging and reading and looking at what other bloggers are writing and doing. There are quite a good number out there that seem like good friends even though I have never actually seen or spoken to any of them. Some of them I have been in touch with from the start. Hope I get to continue blogging for a good long time. It's been a joy. I like it so much I have two other blogs - Pieces of the Past (have not posted to that for a long time but it is full of lots of fun old family pictures) and Just Quilts which I do post to occasionally. The links for those are on my sidebar.

I also have been loving Pinterest for over a year and check it out each day. Gorgeous pictures of all descriptions. Link for my Pinterest boards on the sidebar, too.

So, for an old lady, I keep pretty busy and thank the good Lord for good health and my dear family and for being able to do and enjoy the things that I so enjoy doing as I get close to 85 years old. I have a great group of quilting friends who I enjoy so much and love being with. They won't let me play the old lady card! What a great group of women!!

Now, for a couple of pictures to top off my 1000th post - here are the two newest members of my family! Here's Henry--

and here's Annie--

As I am positive you all know, I am mighty happy and so in love with these little ones!

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Spent most of the afternoon yesterday making labels for the pieces I am putting in our quilt show which will be this weekend. They are not fancy and a couple are whopperjawed, but they are done and now sewn on the quilts. I still had one side of the Swoon quilt to finish binding, too, so I did my sewing as I danced with the stars. I think tonight Victor (I think that's the name of the boxer) will go. Actually, I think he is a darling little guy, but actually he isn't a very good dancer so it is his turn to leave. Then probably Andy should be next - although you just can't help liking him - he is really trying so hard. Next would be Shawn (is that his name?) who is a gorgeous man but not much of a dancer either. I think it will come down to the girls in the finale and will either be Kelly or the cute little teenager. I was still sewing when Castle came on - another good one!

Three more scrappy blocks on my old makeshift small design board - they hang over. These would be great in black and white, also. The cutting of the strips is the most tedious part. When you get in the zone, it doesn't take too long to put a block together. I cut quite a few strips this afternoon and have been going through fabric to see what else I can put in the mix.

No picture, but I baked a snickerdoodle cake yesterday afternoon - didn't want to go to Kroger and was out of sweet stuff!! That can't be tolerated! This was from the internet and was very, very easy and it's very, very good if you like snickerdoodle cookies. Mix it in a jiffy and it bakes in 20 to 30 minutes. It's like a coffee cake.

Lorraine's Snickerdoodle

1 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 c. melted butter
1/2 c. milk
1 egg
Mix the dry and wet ingredients in separate bowls. (I took a little whisk and whisked the flour, sugar, etc., together - and then did the same with the milk and egg and then whisked in the melted butter so it wouln't cook the egg). Combine the separate mixtures. Pour into a buttered 8" square pan (I used Pam) and bake at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes. Next time (and there will be a next time) I would mix cinnamon and sugar together and sprinkle on the top. YUMMY! I think some whipped cream cheese might be nice on it.

Sunday, April 21, 2013

It's a few hours after I did the previous post and this is what I came up with for the first Scrappy Trip. I plan to keep the black with the polka dots and the little black checks in the same position in each block. Will be anxious to see how that comes out when they are butted against each other. What fun to work with color!!! And I did this one right this time and it was much easier.

I have been wanting to make one of these blocks for some time but have been busy getting my pieces finished for our quilt show. That is almost done so I am playing today - especially since I actually did some cleaning yesterday! Not a whole lot but did get some things straightened out and some of the dust caught up in the Hoover. How I hate housework anymore!!!!!! Back to this little block - it won't be used, I don't think, but it has helped me in figuring out what I want to do. The middle diagonal row will have to be very dark in each one - maybe even the same fabric. I actually just jumped right in and cut strips and squares from those strips - that was wrong. I had forgotten that you strip piece sixteen inch 2 1/2" strips then slice the piece into 6 two and one-half inch strips. Read the directions, old woman!!! I think this will be fun to do and, Leslie, do you want to do one too? Anyone else?

I will be having steak on the grill with Sher and Barc tonight plus I hear there will be skype sessions with some very nice people including two adorable little kids in Denver and Portland, too. Looking forward to all of that!!

Friday, April 19, 2013

The package from Glorious Color was in my mailbox this afternoon. Here they are - 21 fat quarters and one half yard piece, laid out on the bed. Such beautiful, saturated color and they feel so silky. Not quite sure what I will do with them, but do have a couple of ideas in this old head. Thinking I might like some more polka dots! I think maybe Park Bench has some.

The piece on the end with the black background is the half yard. I have had some of that before and love it.

A closer look at some of them. The piece in the lower right corner is just gorgeous in person.

I had a comment on the post before this one from one of the bloggers I have been following a long time. The first picture of a scrappy trip around the world is her quilt and I had forgotten where I had found the picture. She makes some gorgeous quilts, knits some wild and crazy socks and does beautiful cross stitch. Also a Carol, you can check out her blog by clicking on The Polka Dot Chicken on my sidebar. We have been checking out each other's blogs for quite some time now. It's amazing how you feel like you know these nice people you have been following on the internet. There are several of the bloggers out there I so enjoy being in touch with.

Thursday, April 18, 2013

I have been quilting and quilting and quilting and am just about finished. The little dresden wallhanging has just the new centers of the plates to be quilted. I picked out the circles and put in small crosshatching. The swoon quilt that I got back from Linda is trimmed and the binding is cut ready to be sewn on, so I will have that and the dresden plate piece to bind.

I have noticed on quite a few blogs a scrappy trip around the world quilt that has had me kind of fascinated. Actually, my very first quilt was a crib quilt for Norah in a trip around the world pattern. It was in greens and there is a picture of it on my sidebar which is followed by a picture of my second quilt, also trip around the world, done in reds. In the picture shown here, you can see the individual blocks ready to be sewn together. The how to for this quilt can be found athttp://quiltville.blogspot.com/2005/06/scrappy-trips-around-world.html

I love this one, also. The other day I ordered almost two dozen quarter yards from Glorious Color which is the website for Kaffe Fassett and his buddies' fabrics. They are all in reds, oranges, hot pinks, etc. Might use them for something like this. It is done with strip piecing, making a tube, slicing the tube then picking the individual identical rings apart at different places. Check out the website and you will see what I mean.

Another one - aren't they neat? I kind of like having the middle diagonal row in each block being a uniform color as in the first quilt. A white with black polka dots would be cool. Endless possibilities! And now for a quote---

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Crazy weather! It's been going from snow or sleet, which doesn't stick on the ground, to looking like the sun will shine and then back again to whatever it has been doing. It's been a very, very unspringlike April so far here in mid-Michigan. However, the grass is getting a tinge of green and the buds on the forsythia near my house are starting to swell. It will come, I am sure. So what a good day (and week) to quilt. I am working on the dresden plates now and have the quilting all figured out. Takes awhile to do each block.

Decided to go pretty much traditional and have just outlined the plates then gone around each section with about a quarter inch line of quilting. Not uniform at all--but not bad when you look at them overall. Just stippling the background of each block.

I was going to look for a motif to put in the setting triangles and decided instead to do some crosshatching. Think it will look pretty good. Nine of the plates are quilted so four more to go. The stippling goes pretty quickly working from one block to the other, but the crosshatching will take awhile. Used to do a lot of crosshatching when I hand quilted and always loved the look of it - like little pillows - very pretty with applique blocks.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Today as I was going through some old files, I ran across a notebook I had that contained lots and lots of quotes - quilting and otherwise - that I found on the internet. Those had been used for notecards I made several years ago for our guild's quilt show bazaar. Along with cute vintage pictures of ladies mainly in the roaring twenties era, I printed the cards and donated them to the guild. Love to do things like that! As I looked at the quotes, I thought it might be fun to have a "quote of the day" whether I posted anything else or note. Some days there just is nothing to show anymore - you have seen almost all of my quilts and wallhangings, old family pictures, pictures of my current family, almost everything I have that is near and dear to my heart in the way of my "old stuff", flowers that I have planted, etc., all things part of my life. After five years (in May) it is hard to come up with posts sometimes. I notice that some of the bloggers who I have followed almost from the beginning are having gaps in their posting also. However, I love blogging and don't want to put it aside. So, to go along with the cute little gal in the cloche hat, I would probably have added a quote to go along with her picture that might have been---

You know you are drinking too much coffee when you can thread a sewing machine while it's running!

Monday, April 8, 2013

I have been quilting - and quilting and quilting - the past two days. I thought this little piece would not take me very much time but I underestimated the job greatly! What has taken so long is the sashing as I wanted to go around each little square since I don't plan to put anything else there. The method has been to quilt up and down each side and then kind of crossing over which means that part of each side has double quilting. I was able to get the same black fabric used on the top for the backing. Another goof! I am using black thread in the bobbin and have had quite a time getting my tension okay.

The top thread is white and I have wandered over on to the black in a lot of places. However, a fine sharpie pen is my best friend and I just cover those little stray suckers with the black ink. I think in the picture above there are several places where I have strayed. Things like this keep a quilter humble.

I am almost done!!! I have two more blocks to quilt and that is the fun part. The sashing is all done and all that will be left are the setting triangles which will just have radiating lines to the edge of the quilt. Even though it has given me a small case of the fits, I still like it and am glad I made it. I am aiming to have it in our upcoming quilt show. (Click to enlarge) ﻿

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Today when I went to to sit in on a paper piecing class that Linda, one of the girls in our guild, teaches, I was able to bring home the Swoon quilt that she quilted for me. It is so beautiful - her work is wonderful.

She programs the designs on her long arm - they are gorgeous.

Another section of the quilt.

The large center - needless to say, I am so very happy with the quilting she did on my quilt. She has quilted two others for me and I love both of those, also. Now I will get this bound and have it ready for our quilt show the end of this
month. (Click to enlarge)

Pieces of the Past

Here's Henry

And Here's Annie

And Here's Lauren

About Me

My name is Carol. I am a quiltaholic. I am now 85 years old and have been blessed with a wonderful family and good health. Keeping busy is no problem for me - in fact, I don't do much cleaning and cooking anymore. I have been quilting for about 35 years. Working on this computer is so amazing - how glad I am that I got in on this in my lifetime.

Funoldhag

(Selfies are in - I was gritting my teeth and taking pics of myself the other day. OMG, I hate how I look on the cellphone screen. However, there is the great delete button that you can get rid of the many bad pictures. I thought this one wasn't too bad so here is a current pic of Funoldhag.) AKA Carol---------My middle granddaughter and I used to tease and call each other silly names. She called me "the old hag" but always with a twinkle in her eye. I added "fun" to it and used it as one of my screennames.

The Start of it All

In 1972 when we moved to Overland Park, Kansas, I was given some quilt blocks by my neighbor. She knew I sewed and these had been made by her mother. She was in her 70's at that time. I put the blocks together with like white blocks. We would go to Arkansas a couple of times a year to fish and would always visit Eureka Springs, a darling little town in the Ozarks. I had never quilted but found a quilt shop there and eventually took the top to have it quilted in Arkansas. The backing and batting were included in the price of $50.00 for hand quilting. I took two other quilts down there before I finally started quilting them myself.